Men's Basketball

Islanders Win Nailbiter over SFA, 46-45

Jan 29, 2011

NACOGDOCHES, Texas - Justin
Reynolds

' free throw with 1.8 seconds left lifted the Texas A&M -
Corpus Christi men's basketball team to a 46-45 win over Stephen F.
Austin on Saturday. Garland
Judkins led the way offensively with 13 points for the
Islanders (8-13, 3-4 Southland), who defeated the Lumberjacks
(12-6, 3-3) for the first time since Feb. 28, 2007.

Demond
Watt added 12 points and six rebounds, while Reynolds scored
nine points to go along with a career-high six assists and four
boards. Jordan Glynn had a double-double with 12 points and 13
rebounds in a losing effort. It marked the first back-to-back home
losses for the Jacks since the 2006-07 season.

Down 45-43 in the final minute, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi was
able to get the ball to Watt on the left wing, and the senior drove
all the way to the hoop to tie the game at 45 apiece with 45.1
seconds left. After SFA called a timeout with 39.1 remaining, the
Jacks turned it over on an errant pass with 25.2 seconds to go.

The Islanders got the ball to Reynolds down low, and he drew the
foul on a layup. The senior calmly drilled the first, then missed
the second intentionally, and the ball went out off of an Islander
with .8 remaining. SFA got the ball in to Eddie Williams, but his
desperation toss went awry to give the visitors the win.

The two squads came out even after the tip, with SFA taking a
6-4 lead on a Jereal Scott hook shot in the lane. But Garland
Judkins went on a 5-0 run on his own, burying a three and
following with a fast-break layup off a Justin
Reynolds steal to make it 9-6 Islanders. But the Lumberjacks
went on a 4-0 run of their own to regain the lead at 10-9.

The back-and-forth continued with Jaamon
Echols converting a fast-break layup and a Horace
Bond jumper regaining the lead for the visitors at 13-10. The
teams traded baskets to a 15-13 Islanders advantage, but a Scott
layup tied the score with 8:00 to play. SFA regained the edge on a
Antonio Bostic putback, and then Scott hit a mid-range jumper to
gain a 19-16 lead for the home team at 4:22. The Lumberjacks
continued to slow the pace, and managed just two free throws the
rest of the way to take a 21-16 lead into the break.

After the Jacks pushed the lead to seven with a Jordan Glynn
jumper, the Islanders went on a 15-0 run to make it a 31-23 lead.
Reynolds, Judkins and Demond
Watt converted for Texas A&M - Corpus Christi out of the
gate. Judkins then converted a layup and was fouled. He missed the
bonus free throw, but Horace
Bond pulled down the board and Terence
Jones buried a three from the right wing to make it 27-23.
Reynolds followed with a putback and Judkins converted another
fast-break dunk to make it a 31-23 advantage. During the run the
Islanders held SFA to 0-for-10 shooting and forced six
turnovers.

But Mark Gomilla finally snapped the streak with a layup, and
that started a 13-0 run for the home team to regain the lead at
36-31. A triple from Bostic was the key basket, and jumpers from
Bostic and Glynn pushed the advantage to five points. Watt came
through at the other end, finishing a layup to snap the string. The
teams then traded baskets to 43-40 with 3:22 remaining.

After a defensive stop, Hollis
Hill got the ball in the corner and drained a three to tie the
game with 3:07 remaining. Glynn gave SFA the lead back on a
second-chance bucket, then got the rebound on a Hill miss to have a
two-point lead with two minutes to play. Neither squad was able to
convert their next time down, and the Islanders grabbed the board
off a Bostic missed layup, taking a timeout down 45-43 with 1:03
remaining. That set up Watt and Reynolds to finish off the
game.

The Islanders shot 20-of-36 (56 percent) from the field, and
held the home squad to just 36 percent from the floor. SFA was just
1-for-10 from downtown in the contest.